Jonathan Blum, CMS Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Medicare, will provide opening remarks and an introduction of the proposed new rule to help health care providers better coordinate care for Medicare patients through Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).

ACOs create incentives for health care providers to work together to treat an individual patient across care settings – including doctor’s offices, hospitals, and long-term care facilities. The Medicare Shared Savings Program will reward ACOs that improve or deliver high quality care and lower growth in health care costs while putting patients first. Patient and provider participation in an ACO is purely voluntary.

The proposed new rule is now available for public comment. This listening session is being held during the comment period to help the public understand what CMS is proposing to do and to ensure that the public understands how to participate in the formal comment process. CMS will respond to questions you may have on the proposed rule. This listening session is not a forum for submitting formal comments on the notice of proposed rule.

Thursday, April 28, 2011 from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM (PDT)

Organizer

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the federal agency responsible for administering Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Additional information regarding CMS programs is available at www.cms.gov